Residents of Fort Chipewyan are being advised that they may have to leave their homes within 15 minutes because of a new wildfire..Fort Chipewyan, population of about 800, is roughly 300 km northeast of Fort McMurray.."We ask those affected to be prepared to evacuate on short notice," said Bre Hutchinson, executive director of the Alberta Emergency Management Agency.."All community members must be prepared to evacuate on a 15-minute notice and should be prepared to be evacuated for at least seven days.".The alert is not an order to evacuate and was issued Tuesday morning by the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo.."This is not an order to evacuate; anyone in the community should be ready to leave on short notice," the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo said.."An evacuation alert has been issued for the community of Fort Chipewyan due to a nearby wildfire, MWF-025. This is not an order to evacuate, it is a warning to be ready and prepared to leave on short notice.".The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo said Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN), Mikisew Cree First Nation (MCFN), and the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (RMWB) have all declared a State of Local Emergency (SOLE) and are issuing a joint evacuation alert for the community.."We know that a new wildfire was detected on Sunday," said Christie Tucker, information unit manager of Alberta Wildfire.."I believe it was reported not long after to be 300 hectares in size. Now it's 3000 so that is a significant amount of growth. Now it's certainly not the largest wildfire in the province, but it is our number one priority because of the proximity to the community there.".Currently, there are 62 wildfires in the forest protection area of Alberta, and 19 of those are out of control.."We have crews and aircraft working," Tucker said.."Fortunately today, winds in the area are light and are blowing away from the community of Fort Chipewyan.".Tucker said this should be a reminder to Albertans of how fast the situation can change during wildfire season.."It's why we are constantly monitoring conditions everywhere. We made significant progress on many wildfires in the province when conditions were cooler last week. But we knew the fight wasn't over," Tucker said..“That's why we continue to bring fighters and resources from other agencies over. The crews from Australia, New Zealand and the United States are now in place on wildfires across the province.”.Tucker said there are roughly 900 firefighters and support staff assisting from other agencies, with new people coming in to replace those going home.."Thursday will welcome nearly 80 from the Yukon and BC. These additional firefighters are working alongside our staff who have been maintaining long hours defending communities in this province from wildfire for weeks," Tucker said.."This wildfire season started early and we still have a long way to go before it's over. Please remember to stay vigilant and respect any bans or restrictions in place to help prevent any more human-caused wildfires."
